Beginning
The Move to Egypt
46 Later, Israel began his journey, taking along everything that he owned, and arrived at Beer-sheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 God spoke to Israel through night visions, addressing him, “Jacob! Jacob!”
“Here I am!” Jacob[a] replied.
3 “I’m God, your father’s God. Don’t be afraid to move down to Egypt, because I’m going to turn you into a mighty nation there. 4 I’m going down with you to Egypt, and I’m certainly going to bring you back again. And Joseph himself will be with you when you die.”[b] 5 So Jacob got up and left Beer-sheba, and Israel’s sons carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives in the transport wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry them. 6 They took their livestock and their household property that they had acquired in the land of Canaan and traveled to Egypt. Jacob and all of his descendants went with him— 7 including his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters—every one of his descendants accompanied him to Egypt.
List of Those who Went to Egypt(A)
8 Here’s a list of the names of Israel’s sons, that is, of Jacob and his sons who moved to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn; 9 Reuben’s sons Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; 10 Simeon’s sons Jemuel,[c] Jamin, Ohad, Jachin,[d] Zohar,[e] and Shaul, who was the son of a Canaanite woman; 11 Levi’s sons Gershon,[f] Kohath, and Merari; 12 and Judah’s sons Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (Technically,[g] Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan.) Perez’s sons were Hezron and Hamul. 13 Also included were Issachar’s sons Tola, Puvvah,[h] Job,[i] and Shimron; 14 along with Zebulun’s sons Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These were all sons from Leah, whom she bore for Jacob in Paddan-aram,[j] along with his daughter Dinah. He had 33 sons and daughters.
16 Also included were Gad’s sons Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli; 17 Asher’s sons Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. Beriah’s sons Heber and Malchiel were also included.[k] 18 These were all sons from Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah. She bore these sixteen children for Jacob.
19 Jacob’s wife Rachel’s sons were Joseph and Benjamin.
20 Joseph’s sons born in the land of Egypt were Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On, bore for him. 21 Benjamin’s sons included Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 22 These were all the sons of Rachel, who were born for Jacob—fourteen in all.
23 Also included were Dan’s son Hushim; 24 Naphtali’s sons Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These were sons of Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel. She bore these children for Jacob—seven in all.
26 All of these people, who belonged to Jacob’s family, traveled to Egypt. All of Jacob’s[l] direct descendants, not including his sons’ wives, numbered 66 persons in all. 27 Joseph had two sons born to him in Egypt, and all of Jacob’s household who went to Egypt numbered 70.
Jacob Arrives in Goshen
28 Jacob[m] sent Judah ahead of them to meet with Joseph, who would be guiding them to Goshen, and so they arrived. 29 Joseph prepared his chariot and went to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as Jacob[n] appeared in his presence, he embraced him[o] and wept for a long time as he held on to him.[p] 30 “Now let me die,” Israel told Joseph, “since I’ve seen your face and confirmed that you’re still alive!”
31 But Joseph addressed his brothers and his father’s household and told them, “I’ll go up and tell Pharaoh that my brothers and my father’s household have arrived from Canaan to be with me. 32 I’ll mention that[q] the men are shepherds. Because they’ve been taking care of livestock, they brought along their flocks, their herds, and everything else that they own. 33 When Pharaoh calls for you and asks you ‘What’s your occupation?’ 34 you are to tell him, ‘Your servants have been taking care of livestock since we were youths. We and our ancestors have taken care of livestock.’ That way, you’ll be able to live in the Goshen territory, since shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”
Joseph’s Family Settles in Goshen
47 After this, Joseph went to inform Pharaoh. “My father and brothers have come here from Canaan,”[r] he said, “and they’ve come with their flocks, herds, and everything else they have. I settled them in the Goshen territory!” 2 He brought along five of his brothers to present before Pharaoh.
3 Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What are your occupations?”
“Your servants are shepherds,” they replied, “both we and our ancestors. 4 We’ve come to live for a while[s] in this region, since there is no pasture back in Canaan[t] for your servants’ flocks. May your servants please live in the Goshen territory?”
5 Then Pharaoh replied to Joseph, “Now that your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 Egypt[u] is at your disposal,[v] so settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land! Let them live in the Goshen territory. If you learn that any of them are especially skilled, put them in charge of my livestock.”
7 Later, Joseph brought his father Jacob to Pharaoh and introduced him. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 “How old are you?”[w] Pharaoh asked Jacob.
9 “I’m 130 years old,” Jacob replied. “My years have turned out to be few and unpleasant, but I haven’t yet reached the age my ancestors did during their travels on earth.”[x] 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and then left the throne room.[y]
11 Joseph settled his father and brothers, assigning them their own land in the best part of Egypt (in the territory of Rameses), just as Pharaoh had ordered. 12 Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all of his father’s household, proportionate to the number of young children.
The Famine Continues
13 Meanwhile, there continued to be no food throughout the land, because the famine remained very severe. As a result, both Egypt and Canaan languished under the effects of the famine. 14 So Joseph kept on accumulating all the money that was to be found throughout Egypt and Canaan in exchange for the grain that was being purchased. He stored the money in Pharaoh’s palace.
15 After all the money had been spent throughout Egypt and Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and demanded, “Give us food! Why should we die right in front of you? Our money is spent!”
16 “You can surrender your livestock,” Joseph replied. “I’ll feed them in exchange, since your money is gone.”
17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph traded food in exchange for horses, various flocks and herds, and donkeys. He fed them with food in exchange for their livestock during that year.
18 The following year, they came to him and reminded him, “We won’t hide from you, your Excellency, that we’ve spent all of our money, and that our livestock all belong to you. There’s nothing left to trade with you, your Excellency, except our bodies and our territories. 19 So why should we and our land die right in front of you? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed, so we can survive and not die, and so the land won’t stay desolate.”
Pharaoh Gains Control of All of Egypt
20 So Joseph purchased all of the Egyptian territory for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine’s effect was so severe. That’s how Pharaoh came to own the land. 21 Then Joseph transported the people to cities from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not purchase land belonging to the priests, because the priests held an allotment, previously provided to them by Pharaoh, from which they lived. That’s why they did not sell their land.
23 After this, Joseph addressed the people. “Pay attention,” he said. “I’ve bought you and your land for Pharaoh today, in exchange for seed for you. Now go sow the land. 24 When harvest season arrives, you are to provide a fifth of the harvest to Pharaoh. The remaining four fifths are to be for your use, for seed, and to feed you, your households, and your little ones.”
25 “You’ve saved our lives,” they replied. “If it pleases you, your Excellency, we’ll be Pharaoh’s slaves.”
26 So Joseph crafted a statute concerning Egypt that remains valid to this day that Pharaoh should own a fifth of the produce, excluding the land belonging to the priests, which remained outside of Pharaoh’s control.
27 Israel remained in Egypt’s Goshen territory, acquired land there, became prosperous, and his descendants[z] grew very numerous. 28 He lived for seventeen more years in Egypt, until he was 147 years old. 29 As the time approached for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and addressed him. “Please,” he asked, “if you’re happy with me, make a solemn promise[aa] that you’ll treat me fairly and kindly by not burying me in Egypt. 30 Instead, when I’ve died, as my ancestors have, you are to carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their tomb.”[ab]
“I’ll do what you’ve asked,” Joseph[ac] replied.
31 “Promise me,” Israel[ad] insisted. So Joseph promised. Then Israel collapsed[ae] on his bed.
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